Last Year at Marienbad (rewatch)

Watching it for the second time, trying to impose some kind of sense or logic on it.  I think it makes sense if you consider that none of it is actually occurring in the now, except for the voiceover.  It’s a man reconstructing his memories, mulling over them, sometimes realizing “No, that’s not right, it happened this way”, sometimes trailing off into fantasy segments and wish fulfillment.  The woman’s dialogue is only her responding in his head, either as a separate voice for himself or with scraps of dialogue from their past.  It’s certainly an enigmatic little puzzle, and beautiful to behold.  Rating: 10

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Alice

I’m trying to catch up on the few remaining Allen films I haven’t seen (though I’ve seen enough of Celebrity to know I never want to finish it). This is a clever foray into magic realism, mostly enjoyable but a little insubstantial.  It’s weird how much stuff in his films happens at cocktail parties.  There’s upscale party scenes in Annie Hall, Hannah and her Sisters, Small Time Crooks, Husbands and Wives, Love and Death, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Stardust Memories, Sleeper, Deconstructing Harry, and probably others I’ve forgotten.  The man is obsessed with gatherings of the idle rich.  Also, I can’t help watching Woody Allen movies now without looking for Bergman influences.  Rating: 7

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Lady Snowblood

I rented this because I’d heard it was a major influence on Kill Bill, and boy, is it ever.  There’s hardly anything Tarantino DIDN’T borrow from this movie.  First, the bad… I don’t mind the absurd geysers of blood, but having it be bright red just ruins it for me.  I don’t care for the narration (though given its manga roots, I guess it makes sense).  The camera is kinda shaky, and some kind of weird lens was used that warps things so that stuff on the edges of the screen looks narrower than the middle.  Now, the good… a solid, watchable revenge flick that keeps rolling along without losing steam.  Some excellent photography, including great use of color and some killer zooms.  Groovy modern soundtrack.  Fun to watch either on its own merits or just to play “count the things Quentin stole”.  Also, the DVD has the best damn subtitling I’ve ever seen.  Rating: 8

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Persona (rewatch)

This is really abstract for Bergman, who usually deals with pretty straightforward narratives.  It definitely requires multiple viewings.  But I’m not sure it’s a favorite of mine.  I’m fascinated by it, and some parts are very engaging, but on the whole it might be too much style over substance for my tastes.  It’s kind of a natural progression from The Silence but I’m glad he got it out of his system.  

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Till Glädje (To Joy)

This is the earliest Bergman I’ve seen, and one of the loveliest.  It’s surprising to find such fine camerawork this early in his career.  This is a wonderful blend of the kind of cynicism and bitterness that would later be seen in films like Scenes from a Marriage, and an optimism and warmth you don’t often see in his work.  Great music, too.  Rating: 9

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Before Sunset

Felt very French New Wave, and not just because it’s set in France.  You’ve got the roughly-90-minutes of real time of walking through Paris, just like Cleo From 5 to 7.  You’ve got the extended conversation, very reminiscent of Godard.  And even the song at the end (quite lovely, by the way) brought forth the same emotional release that the song in Jules et Jim provides.  At first the dialogue seemed unnatural but perhaps that was intentional… the dialogue between two people trying to be casual but also keeping up a front.  After a while they got into a flow that felt more real, though perhaps still a little pumped up for the sake of the film… which is okay.  In the end, I was quite satisfied.  Rating: 8

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Wild at Heart

It seriously took me all day to watch this movie.  I kept getting distracted, or started doing other things… making something to eat, going shopping, getting on the computer, etc.  Not because the movie was boring, but I just wasn’t into it.  Too much random depravity, like a John Waters movie with a big budget.  Or like Blue Velvet but without the “normal” parts for contrast.  Ugh, and all those labored Wizard of Oz references, and beating you over the head with the fire motif.  Normally I enjoy Lynch’s worlds, but here it’s too much.  Rating: 5 

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Cleo From 5 To 7

Kind of lukewarm on this one.  I liked the photography, including the excellent use of tracking shots, and the score was very nice.  But I didn’t really care what happened to this silly, spoiled, drama queen, who by the end of the picture is only slightly more bearable.  But bonus points for the interesting real-time narrative structure.  Rating: 7

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Garden State

I can’t really say this was a bad movie, but it was terribly trite, and rather familiar.  Lonely, depressed, disillusioned guy meets off-beat, carefree girl who teaches him how to enjoy life.  Loaded with brilliant insights such as, “That’s life. If nothing else, it’s life. It’s real, and sometimes it fuckin hurts, but it’s sort of all we have.”  Wow, that’s deep.  Natalie Portman is truly awful in this, as well.  I don’t just mean her character is obnoxious (she is), but the acting is flat and phony.  The hipster indie-folk soundtrack is annoying, too (I’m now officially sick of Nick Drake… I didn’t think it would be possible).

For Braff’s first feature, it’s okay and technically it’s solid enough (although I noticed some bad editing).  But it feels like the effort of someone who so desperately wants to have something meaningful to say, but doesn’t.  Rating: 5 

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Postmen in the Mountains

I enjoyed watching this very much.  It’s nice to see a world where people are kind to each other.  There’s no fights, no violence, no hate in this movie.  Just a father and son (and Lao’er, the faithful German Shepherd) getting to know each other better.  Very sweet and moving.  Rating: 8

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